Memento
by frenziedpanda7
Summary: Holding out the box, he said quietly, "I believe he'd want you to have this..."
1. Chapter 1

Memento

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the characters, but they seem to have taken up permanent residence in my head.

The box was ancient, the workmanship exquisite, its value incalculable.

At first, he hadn't understood why Yugi had needed to carry it with him, until that incredible moment when _two_ Yugi's stood where there had been only one. Two duelists, two decks, Yugi had needed to keep his deck separate and hidden from the pharaoh.

He couldn't understand why the others had been frozen by the sight of Atem as his own person. Had they not walked with him, fought beside him against Zorc? It was not an experience he would ever forget, though he would certainly never speak of it. Nor would he forget the sound he heard in the moment when Yugi and his "other" were pulled apart, the quick hoarse gasp as Atem drew air into his own lungs, alive again for so brief a time.

There was no useless sentiment between them- he was oddly pleased to note- as they paced off the space needed for their final trial. Yugi knew his duty was to put the pharaoh to rest,_ if_ he survived the duel.

He watched as Yugi knelt and placed the box on the ground before him, taking out his deck and moving the box to one side, then sliding the deck into his duel disk as he stood resolute. But the box was not far enough out of the way. It would be pathetic if Yugi were to trip over it and injure himself…

And so, he found himself darting forward, unnoticed by the others, quickly snatching up the box and transferring it to one of the innumerable pockets of his trench coat.

He forgot about it as the duel went on. The gods were summoned, Obelisk, then Osiris, finally Ra, a duel that would truly go down in history. _It seems you will not be returning to the underworld. Sooner or later, I'll settle this down with you. _But sooner or later became never and history became legend as Yugi vanquished the gods in one turn.

With the death of the gods it seemed as if fear should have died within Yugi as well, but there was still one who could resurrect that fear and that was the one summoned by pharaoh's will. _This fear is new to you, Yugi, but it is a fear I've known since that duel atop Pegasus's tower. And again, at Battle City, even with the might of my ultimate beast between us. He saw what is in my soul, saw the forgotten past I would not acknowledge. If there is any weakness, any doubt within your soul, Yugi, he WILL find it and then he will be your undoing…_

But there was no doubt, no fear, only determination. _The dead must not linger. _It was the judgment of fate. The weight of victory was what finally brought Yugi to his knees; the courage to stand and face the consequences of that victory was Atem's final gift to his partner.

There were tears and pleadings, but fate would not be denied. The doors opened and the pharaoh walked to his destiny, back straight, sustained by the brave words of Jonouchi, (Surely the most intelligent words the bonkotsu had ever uttered.) and the promise of immortality in the memories he left with them all.

As if to hurry them along on the road to the future, the ancient ground shook, opening a chasm that snatched the items out of their reach and back into legend. They made it to the open air just in time to see the past vanish beneath the eternal sands…

It was late afternoon on the boat when he remembered the box. Yugi was not in his cabin. He avoided the others as he strolled about on the upper deck, finally spotting the new "King of Games" sitting alone at the back of the boat, leaning his head on the railing, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"No guilt, Yugi". He said as he lowered himself to the deck besides his rival, long legs dangling over the side. "You fulfilled your duty to him. Finish your grieving, then find your own future. You are his legacy, his immortality." He waited while Yugi gathered himself, then turned grief- dulled eyes to face him. Holding out the box, he said quietly, " I believe he'd want you to have this, as a memento."

Yugi grabbed for it like a drowning man reaching for a life preserver. "The puzzle box, I thought it was lost in the earthquake! How did you-?"

"It would have been a sorry end to the duel, Yugi, if you had tripped over it and broken your neck. Lucky for you, I decided to move it out of the way."

"Kaiba- Thank you- I thought I'd have almost nothing to remember him by, just our cards and well, these boots."

Kaiba cast an appraising eye over his rival's foot-wear. "Hmmph, you're right, they don't really suit _you._ I suppose you'll go back to sneakers?"

"Well, they _are _more comfortable for running."

"Just make sure your running towards your destiny, not away from it. Remember, you are the 'King of Games' now, but I'm going to challenge you for that title."

The grief was still there within Yugi, but Kaiba was pleased to see him rise to the challenge. "I look forward to it, Kaiba", he said, his voice reflecting his newly realized power, "But you'll have to travel a long road of battle before you get it. It's one more memento of our time together, and I plan to hold on to it for awhile…"

Their friendship still unvoiced, the two rivals sat in companionable silence, watching the sun sink towards the horizon. A soft sigh came from Yugi as a thought occurred to him. "I just-I just wish-"

"Wish what, Yugi?" Kaiba's voice was surprisingly gentle.

"I wish I could have had a picture of him. I've seen photos taken at Battle City and the Grand Prix, but it's always _me_! I got all the glory, but _he_ was the one that dueled! Except for you and me and Jonouchi and our friends, no one will ever know he was a real person."

Kaiba frowned as a thought occurred to him. His hand brushed over the communicator on his lapel. A sophisticated and compact device _that was also a recorder…_


	2. Chapter 2

Memento

Chapter Two

A/N : The conversation between Kaiba and Ishizu, and the translation of the carving are taken from Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist Volume 23.

Stupid, stupid, how could he have been so _stupid_?

The recording capability in his communicator was a security feature that provided an ongoing real- time record of where he went and who he interacted with, enabling rapid response in the event of a kidnapping attempt or other threat. It had been his own idea to incorporate the same technology into the duel disks created for the Battle City Tournament!

The idea had been to enable Kaiba Corporation to monitor the duels in real- time while allowing duelists to move freely about the city. The recordings were archived at the company headquarters in Domino where they were periodically analyzed by technicians looking for ways to improve the performance of the duel disks, as well as tournament judges and officials watching for attempts at cheating or simply tracking up-and-coming competitors.

While his personal communicator was equipped with an off switch, he hadn't thought to include such a feature in the duel disks. Duelists had no way of knowing that their every duel was being recorded by Kaiba Corporation.

For the average duelist, this would not be an issue aside from privacy concerns. (The legal department would have a fit if they learned of it, he thought ruefully.) Outside of official tournaments, nobody cared about most duelists. But certain high- level duelists received special attention, with Yugi being at the top of that list. Which meant that even now, some technician or researcher could be watching Yugi dueling…"Yugi" . (At least the talking duel monster could be passed off as experimental programming.)

After the Doma fiasco, certain recordings had been erased in the interests of "national security". This time, however, he wouldn't have governmental and military backing in making sure certain duels never saw the light of day. He would have to act fast if he wanted to avoid uncomfortable questions about who actually won the Battle City and KC Grand Prix Tournaments. More importantly, Yugi needed privacy while he came to terms with Atem's passing. This would be the worst time for him to become embroiled in a media- generated scandal.

While still in flight, he contacted R&D. The department head confirmed his suspicions that data from Yugi's duel disk had recently been downloaded, _along with data_ _from an apparently unregistered duel disk._

An unregistered duel disk? Atem? How was that possible? Hadn't Atem's duel disk been nothing more than some sort of shadow construct? Had the items been powerful enough to replicate sophisticated technology so precisely? With the items lost again - probably forever- that question might never be answered.

"Has anyone viewed the recordings?"

"Not yet, Mr. Kaiba. I was about to look at them myse-."

"No! _No one_ is to see them! Remove the data from both disks from the main archive and hold it for me. I'm on my way there now."

"Sir..?"

"They're…evidence. "

"Evidence, sir? The unregistered duel disk, is it a counterfeiting case?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. And make sure there are no leaks. If I hear or read _anything_ about this in the media, you're all fired!"

He took the recordings back to the Kaiba Mansion, choosing to watch them in the secure "panic room" he had constructed upon gaining control of Kaiba Corporation.

Mokuba was with him. His little brother had witnessed the actual events; it wouldn't be right to keep the recordings from him. He deliberately avoided thinking of the one person who had an absolute right to see them. He wouldn't call Yugi, not until he was sure of what they would see.

He tried to remain detached, tried to tell himself he was just analyzing an outstanding duel. But he knew he was lying to himself.

There- in the light beyond the door- he _had_ seen figures looking out, waiting. Two of the figures, the one kneeling and the tall one standing behind, seemed familiar. He couldn't bear to think of why…

The remaining footage from Yugi's duel disk was of little interest, aside from confirming that they had been lucky to escape with their lives. Understandably, Yugi hadn't thought to turn off the duel disk when the duel ended. Footage from Atem's duel disk had ended abruptly after Silent Magician's attack.

"Seto-" He turned, startled. He had forgotten Mokuba was in the room. "Seto, those people- in the doorway- ?"

"I know Mokuba, I saw them too."

"Who-who were they?"

"Part of Atem's past, a past that has nothing to do with us-"

"But _you _were there! I _saw _you! How can that be?" There was a note of panic in Mokuba's voice. " A- Atem said you were in his memories, that it's you in that carving! I don't want you to be there! I want you to stay _here!_"

Kaiba swept his brother into a fierce embrace. "Little brother I'm not going anywhere. Maybe some part of me was there once, but I'm here with you now. And I promise you, just like I promised at the orphanage I won't let _anyone or anything_ separate us, ever."

After a moment, Mokuba nodded, reassured by his brothers set- in- concrete declaration. "Are you going to tell Yugi?"

It would be best to destroy the recordings. It was over and done with, let Yugi heal, let him live his life. But he could still hear Yugi's voice; _I wish I could have had a picture of him…_

'Mokuba, call Yugi. Tell him we'll have a car pick him up after school tomorrow…"

He worked through the night, splicing and editing until he was sure the finished product was perfect. Keeping him focused was Ishizu's voice of all things, the memory of their conversation at Alcatraz Tower after he had been defeated by Yugi (Atem).

"_The three thousand year old palette discovered in the Pharaoh's mortuary temple… Bears a __**prayer for the dead**__… A dedication to the late Pharaoh… And signed by "The Pharaoh's true friend"… Those words, that proof of friendship, were left to the world… By the other figure carved on the stone… Have you read it, Seto? Have you translated the carvings on its surface?"_

_Oh yes, Ishizu. They burned themselves into my brain, and they won't let go…_

"_Time is the battlefield of souls…"_

"_I cry the song of battle, the song of a friend… "_

When Yugi arrived late that afternoon, he had Mokuba bring him to the library, then instructed the cook to prepare dinner for three.

Yugi stared in confusion at the DVD Kaiba handed him. "Kaiba, what-?"

"It's the only copy, Yugi. It's yours. Do what you wish with it. But I'll warn you just this once, you do _not_ want this broadcast on the internet!

Understanding, when it came, hit Yugi hard. His voice shook as the DVD slipped from nerveless fingers.

"Kaiba… Is this..?"

"It is. The memento you wanted and a tribute. But Yugi, before you leave here, I want you to promise me one thing. At Battle City, Atem told me I would never be able to move forward if I didn't let go of the hatred and anger in my heart. It was hard for me to admit it, but he was right. Now I'm telling you to let go of the past. Live the life _you_ want to live! Promise me, Yugi , swear on _his _name that you won't wallow in the past!"

"Kaiba, I do promise. He told me I was the only Motou Yugi in the world. I understand that. I will live. I just need a little time. And thank you for this. I don't know how I'll repay you for this and the puzzle box…"

"Just keep your promise, Yugi. You can watch it here in the library. We'll have dinner ready when you're finished." Kaiba stood and walked towards the door.

"Kaiba… Could… I mean, would you like to watch it with me?"

He had stayed up all night watching it, and he had work that needed his attention. Still, it would probably be the last time…

He turned away from the door. Mokuba joined them on the couch as they watched in silent tribute to a departed friend…

The end


End file.
